Extraction of modular belt carriers of electronic components

ABSTRACT

Replaceable component carriers ( 40 ) are adapted to be freely floating in belt apertures ( 74 ) and have alignment features ( 160 ), such as conical holes ( 170 ), mated to features ( 162 ), such as tapered pins ( 184 ), in processing stations to temporarily hold a carrier ( 40 ) and its components ( 10 ), such as resistors, in a fixed position during various processes, such as termination. The carriers ( 40 ) include a rigid substructure ( 50 ) and a more elastic coating ( 60 ) to provide receiving holes ( 46 ) that can be adapted to hold particular components ( 10 ). The carriers ( 40 ) can be replaced without removing the belt ( 72 ), whenever differently shaped holes ( 46 ) are desired or become too worn to reliably handle components ( 10 ), thereby reducing damage risk, replacement cost, and operational down time of the belt ( 72 ).

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/989,904, filed Nov. 15, 2004, which is a divisional of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/642,052, filed Aug. 15, 2003, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,066,314, issued Jun. 27, 2006, which derives priority fromU.S. Provisional Application No. 60/404,192, filed Aug. 16, 2002.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

® 2003 Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. A portion of the disclosureof this patent document contains material that is subject to copyrightprotection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimilereproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure,as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records,but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 37 CFR §1.71(d).

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to microelectronic component or “chip” handlingequipment and, more particularly, to a transfer belt and a chip carrieremployed in a chip termination process.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As computers and related equipment are made with greater capacity formore complex tasks, the internal components, in these computers andother components, have been downsized necessarily so that more and morecomponents can be crowded into the same overall computer container. Forexample, the capacitor developed by Michael Faraday in the form of aLeyden jar has been reduced in size to that of a grain of salt. FIGS. 1Aand 1B (generically FIG. 1) show exemplary respective components 10 aand 10 b (generically components 10). With reference to FIG. 1A, atypical capacitor component 10 a is in the form of a rectangularparallelepiped of a length of 0.02 inch (0.51 mm), a width of 0.01 inch(25 mm), and a height of 0.03 inch (0.76 mm), e.g., over 33 of thesecomponents placed end to end, would measure almost one inch (25.4 mm).

Greater details of the external and internal structure of a typicalcomponent are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,382 (the '382 patent) ofBraden. After the components 10 are first manufactured, their electricalcontact surfaces at ends 12 a (or the sides) of component 10 a arecoated with a thin layer of solder paste 14 a that also covers smalladjacent portions of the sides. The solder paste 14 a, also called a“termination,” contains ingredients that upon firing at elevatedtemperatures render it hard, easy to handle, and easy to reheat for asolder connection to copper strikes on a circuit board. The process ofcoating and firing components 10 is called a “termination” process. FIG.1B shows multi-element or array component 10 b that has multiplediscrete lines of solder paste 14 b ₁, 14 b ₂, and 14b₃ (generically 14b) applied across discrete electrical contact surfaces on end 12 b (orthe sides) in contrast to surfaces that can be coated on the entire end12 a or on any portion thereof.

FIG. 2A is plan view of a prior art carrier belt 20, and FIG. 2B is across-sectional view of a prior art carrier mask 22 that is molded ontocarrier belt 20. With reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, a conventionalmethod of high-speed termination employs a continuous metal carrier belt20 having a plurality of edges 23 that define laterally elongatedapertures 24 formed therein that host a like plurality of masks 22 thatare molded onto carrier belt 20 from silicon rubber and held by itsmolded flanges 30. The components 10 are loaded in vertical orientationin component holes 26 in masks 22 with their respective ends 12 (orsides) exposed above and below masks 22. The process employs drive spokewheel holes 28 to advance the chip-loaded belt 20 to a dipper or“dauber” station where carrier belt 20 is slightly deformed to move oneend 12 (or side) of components 10 into contact with termination pasteand thereafter pass components 10 through an oven to set the pastebefore applying the paste to the other end 12 (or side) of thecomponents 10 as disclosed in detail in the '382 patent.

Belt-based termination systems are commonly used in the passiveelectronic component industry. The cost of replacing belts 20 is asignificant portion of the overall operating cost of belt-basedtermination systems. Each new type of geometry for components 10 mayrequire differently sized masks to hold them. Manufacturers with a highmix of component geometries may require frequent belt changes. The costof a new endless belt 20 with newly sized masks 22 is significant, andthe downtime encountered in changing and tuning new belts 20 takes awayfrom production time and adversely affects throughput and price. Takingbelts 20 on and off for temporary belt substitutions can also damage thebelts 20, making them useless or adversely affecting the quality of theparts processed on them.

Alternatively, employing the same mask 22 and belt 20 combination for avariety of component designs and sizes reduces the overall quality ofthe termination process primarily because sharp-edged components 10 tendto cut, shave, or otherwise fray the holding surfaces of the masks 22.Once such damage is done, slightly smaller components 10 or those havinga slightly altered body shape are generally not held in masks 22 withsufficient force to avoid misalignment or loss of components 10. Masks22 will also wear out even if they are used only to hold a single typeof component 10, and neither masks 22 nor belts 20 are inexpensive toreplace.

Re-masking of a belt 20 with new masks 22 presents its own set ofproblems. The costs of physically cutting away the old mask makes laborcosts high and is a source of physical damage to the typically thinstainless steel belt 20 from an errant knife cut or unintentionalcreasing. Dissolving away the old mask is possible; however, the solventand the rubber-solvent solutions are not inexpensive and are candidatesfor environmental problems in storing and discarding the material.Typically, used belts 20 are discarded.

In addition to mask wear issues, typical mask material must besufficiently elastic to releasably hold components 10, but suchelasticity is nearly incompatible with desired alignment tolerances forholding certain types of components 10, such as multiple element orarray components 10 b, within masks 22 for processing with greaterprecision and incompatible with increases in the number of rows 30 ofholes 26.

Alignment of the belt 20 to processing stations is typicallyaccomplished by aligning the drive holes 28 to the processing station.Unfortunately, this method of alignment necessitates tight alignmenttolerances on the drive holes 28, drive wheels, pulleys, walking beams,and/or other belt translation devices, and processing stations andnecessitates labor-consuming alignment of the processing stations toeach other. Such alignment requirements increase wear, cost of theequipment, and setup and realignment time, and decrease equipmentprocessing speed and overall throughput. Despite such expensivealignment procedures, components 10 b often suffer from misalignment ofrespective pairs of contact pads 16 b ₁, 16 b ₂, and 16 b ₃ (generically16 b) of solder paste 14 b such that components 10 b cannot besimultaneously functionally and squarely seated in a circuit board.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is, therefore, to provide a replaceablecomponent carrier.

Another object of the invention is to provide such component carriersthat can be independently aligned to one or more processing stations.

The present invention employs replaceable component carriers forretaining components in a modular belt during termination and otherprocesses and during transport to and from processing stations. In someembodiments, the carriers are adapted to be snapped into transverseelongated apertures formed in the belt such that the carriers are freelyfloating in the apertures. Each of such carriers has two or morealignment features, such as spaced-apart conical holes, mated tofeatures, such as tapered pins, in processing stations to temporarilyhold the freely floating carrier and its components in a fixed positionin the belt during various processes. In some embodiments, the carriersinclude a more rigid substructure to maintain alignment and processquality and a less rigid, more elastic covering that lines support holessuch that they are suitable for receiving and holding the componentsduring the various processes. The shape of the resulting elasticreceiving holes can be adapted for receiving a particularly shapedcomponent, and the carriers can quickly and easily be exchanged orreplaced whenever differently shaped holes are desired or whenever thereceiving holes become too worn to reliably handle components. Thecarriers can be replaced without removing the belt, thereby reducing therisk of damage to the belt, the cost of replacing the belt, and theoperational downtime associated with removing or replacing the belt.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof,which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are isometric views of exemplary electronic componentswith at least one end coated with a termination paste.

FIG. 2A is plan view of a prior art carrier belt.

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of a prior art carrier portion that ismolded onto the carrier belt of FIG. 2A.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are respective plan and cross-sectional views of anembodiment of a replaceable carrier.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are respective plan and side elevation views of anexemplary removable carrier engaged with a carrier belt.

FIG. 4C is a side elevation view of a removable carrier having analternative projection engaged with a carrier belt.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of an embodiment of aremovable carrier showing details of an radio-frequency identificationtag, an aperture-engagement projection, and mated alignment featuresbetween a carrier and a processing station.

FIG. 6 is a simplified side elevation view of a processing stationalignment fixture positioned over mated alignment features on aremovable carrier.

FIG. 7 is a simplified fragmentary cross-sectional view of an exemplarycarrier attachment system.

FIG. 8 is a simplified side elevation view of an exemplary carrierextraction system.

FIG. 9A is a simplified fragmentary plan view of an alternativeexemplary carrier attachment system.

FIG. 9B is a simplified fragmentary isometric view of an alternativecarrier belt system that can employ an alternative embodiment of aremovable carrier.

FIG. 10 is a simplified part side elevation and part isometricfragmentary cross-sectional view of an alternative exemplary carrierattachment system.

FIG. 11 is a simplified part side elevation and part isometricfragmentary cross-sectional view of an alternative exemplary carrierattachment system that employs securing pins.

FIG. 12 is a simplified side elevation cross-sectional view of analternative exemplary carrier attachment system that employs analternative type of belt engagement feature.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 3A and 3B (generically FIG. 3) are respective plan andcross-sectional views of an embodiment of a replaceable componentcarrier 40 having multiple rows 42 and columns 44 of component receivingholes 46 for resiliently and firmly holding components 10 duringtransport to, and processing at, various processing stations, and FIGS.4A and 4B (generically FIG. 4) are respective fragmentary plan and sideelevation views of an embodiment of a replaceable component carrier 40engaged with a carrier belt 72. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, apreferred embodiment of carrier 40 comprises a substantially rigidsubstructure 50 and a resilient or elastomeric coating material or layer60. Carrier 40 may alternatively comprise only a single materialsufficiently rigid to maintain hole alignment and sufficiently elasticto gently but firmly hold components 10 for processing.

Substructure 50 can be made of metal, such as aluminum, magnesium, orsteel, or a hard plastic, such as a polyetherimide, with a Vicatsoftening temperature of above about 200 degrees Celsius, a broadchemical resistivity, and good thermal stability. The material ofsubstructure 50 is preferably adapted to rigidly maintain alignments anddistances between components 10. A preferred embodiment of substructure50 includes a body 52 that has side walls 54 and end walls 58 and isperforated by rows 42 and columns 44 of support holes 56 that runbetween substantially parallel and symmetrically positioned recessedareas 62 on opposite sides of the body 52 of substructure 50. Recessedareas 62 and inside edges 64 of support holes 56 are preferably filledor coated with resilient coating layer 60, such as with an elastomerlike silicon rubber, having an exemplary durometer value of 50 to 80Shore A to form receiving holes 46 that have a narrower diameter than,and line the internal edges of, support holes 56. Resilient coatinglayer 60 is preferably thick enough to reduce the internal dimensions ofsupport holes 56 to desired internal dimensions to capture and hold acomponent 10 therein with sufficient strength to pass undamaged orunmoved through several processing operations, including terminationoperations having a paste application step, while being sufficientlypliable or elastic to permit movement of components 10 when directed bya given processing station. The elastomer coating or layer 60 fills inthe recessed area 62 about support holes 56 so that the elastomermaterial at the edges of support holes 56 is not damaged by theinsertion of the components into the receiving holes 46.

Substructure 50 and resilient coating layer 60 can be sequentiallyproduced by any number of injection molding processes as are well knownto skilled practitioners. Skilled persons will appreciate thatsubstructures 50 can be loaded into belts 72 (as later described), andcoating layer 60 can be applied to substructures 50 while they areassociated with belts 72; or, coating layer 60 can be applied tosubstructures 50 in a process where they are not supported by a belt 72.Resilient material 60 can also be made separately and then inserted intosubstructures 50. Skilled person will also appreciate that thatsubstructures 50 and/or resilient material 60 can be color coded, suchas with colorant additives or processes well-known to skilledpractitioners, by sizes, shapes, or patterns of support holes 56 andreceiving holes 46 to facilitate sorting or other identification-relatedprocesses.

Skilled persons will also appreciate that even though support holes 56and receiving holes 46 are preferably coaxial, neither support holes 56nor receiving holes 46 need be circular or have similar concentricshapes as shown. For example, support holes 56 may exhibit adiamond-shaped horizontal cross section, while receiving holes 46 mayexhibit a square, rectangular, oval, slot or circular horizontal crosssection and may be adapted to secure components 10 having specificrectangular parallelepiped or other configurations. Support holes 56 andreceiving holes 46 may even have matched or unmatched irregulargeometries.

Substructure 50 also includes a flange 68 and an engagement feature orprojection 70 that cooperate to engage a carrier belt 72 that can beidentical to, or different from, the prior art belt 20. A typicalcarrier belt 72 is flat, thin, and made from stainless steel, anothermetal, plastic, or another suitable material and is bordered by a pairof spaced-apart, parallel side edges 76. Carrier belt 72 typicallyincludes a series of drive holes 78 formed along one or both side edges76 for engagement with spokes of a drive wheel (not shown) that is usedin a typical chip termination machine such as disclosed in the '382patent. Carrier belt 72 also typically includes a plurality of elongatedand parallel carrier-receiving areas or apertures 74 orientedtransversely to an elongated axis of carrier belt 72 and lying centrallybetween side edges 76 and spaced evenly from drive holes 78, such thatbelt 72 is symmetrical on either side and from either direction.Apertures 74 preferably have an oval or elliptical perimeter to avoidsharp corners along internal edges 82 of belt 72 that could promotestress cracks, and are generally made by a stamp-cutting process whereina cutter in the outline of an aperture 74 is brought downward againstbelt 72 as it passes underneath the cutter. Skilled persons willappreciate that apertures 74 need not be symmetrical or symmetricallypositioned, and that apertures 74 can be positioned at angles withrespect to side edges 76 of belt 72. Similarly, the elongated axis ofapertures 74 may be oriented to be parallel to the elongated axis ofcarrier belt 72, and such apertures 74 could be grouped parallel to eachother in sets.

The body 52 of carrier 40 is shaped to be similar to, but dimensionallysmaller than, aperture 74 such that side walls 54 fit within internaledges 82. Side walls 54 are preferably adapted to be spaced away frominternal edges 82 along one or both sides 84 and/or one or both ends 86of aperture 74 by a gap 88 of about 0.3 to 2 mm (and preferably about 1mm), for example, such that when carrier 40 is inserted into aperture74, carrier 40 is able to move or “float” within the internal edges 82of aperture 74. The shape of body 52 or aperture 74 can be designed topermit symmetrical or asymmetrical gaps along sides 84 and/or ends 86and can be designed such that the gaps 88 along sides 84 and ends 86 canbe the same or different. Exemplary lengths 90 and widths 92 of body 52are respectively 75 mm and 8 mm, and exemplary lengths 94 and widths 96of aperture 74 are respectively 76 mm and 9 mm.

While most dimensions of body 52 are smaller than the respectivedimensions of aperture 74, the thickness (or height) 100 of carrier 40,defined by a distance between a top carrier surface 102 and a bottomcarrier surface 104, is preferably greater that the thickness (orheight) 106 of belt 72 or internal edges 82 such that top surface 102 ofcarrier 40 is located above belt 72 and bottom surface 104 of carrier 40is located below belt 72 when carrier 40 is inserted into aperture 74.Typical belt heights 106 are about 0.5 mm to about 2 mm, and preferredcarrier heights 100 are about 3 mm to about 6 mm. The larger height 100of carrier 40 facilitates adaptation of a flange 68 that has a topsurface that is preferably planar with top surface 102 and extendsoutwardly from body 52 so that flange 68 overhangs and preferablycontacts top surface 108 of belt 72 whenever carrier 40 is positionedwithin aperture 74. Flange 68 is preferably attached to or integratedwith substructure 50 and made from its same material. Flange 68 is alsopreferably continuous around the entire perimeter of body 52 and ispreferably designed to have a symmetrical overlap 110 of top surface 108around the perimeter of aperture 74 and/or a symmetrical overhang 98around body 52. Skilled persons will appreciate that flange 68 mayalternatively be discontinuous and may comprise, for example, numerous“teeth” that overlap top surface 108 along portions of sides 84 and/orends 86 of aperture 74 or may simply comprise a minimum number of nubs70 a (FIG. 4C), such as one at each end 86, sufficient to prevent flange68 from being pulled through aperture 74. Flange 68 may alternatively oradditionally be designed to have dissimilar amounts of overhang 98 a and98 b (generically 98) around body 52 at different positions around theperimeter of aperture 74, such as in proximity to the sides or ends ofbody 52.

In an alternative embodiment, belt 72 has height dimension 106 thatextends between its respective top and bottom surfaces 108 and 112, andthe carrier-receiving areas have one or more apertures 74 that extendthrough a vertical side of belt 72 and have height dimensions that aresmaller than height dimension 106 of belt 72, such that body 52 or theentirety of carrier 40 can be inserted through a vertical side of belt72. In such an embodiment, flange 68 and/or projection 70 are positionedabout the ends of body 52 and may encompass both top and bottom surfaces102 and 104, and these belt-engagement features may be replaced with orenhanced by a different type of belt-engagement feature that isgenerally horizontally positioned with respect to body 52 and thatengages carrier attachment points such as holes or protrusions ininternal walls or edges 82 of belt 72.

Carrier 40 preferably has a projection 70 that is attached to orintegrated with substructure 50 or flange 68 and extends outwardly frombody 52, is preferably made from its same material, and may permitcarrier 40 to be “snapped” into aperture 74. Projection 70 is adapted torest against bottom surface 112 of belt 72 and cooperates with flange 68to engage belt 72 at sides 84 and/or ends 86 of aperture 74 to removablysecure carrier 40 in aperture 74. Projection 70 may be continuous aroundthe entire perimeter of body 52 or may be discontinuous and maycomprise, for example, one or more “teeth” that overlap bottom surface112 along portions of sides 84 and/or ends 86 of aperture 74 or maysimply comprise a minimum number of nubs 70 a (FIG. 4C), such as one ateach end 86, sufficient to secure carrier 40 in aperture 74. Projection70, if discontinuous, may have the same or different dimensions alongdifferent portions of body 52.

FIG. 5 is a simplified fragmentary cross-sectional view of an embodimentof carrier 40 showing details of an exemplary projection 70, aradio-frequency identification tag (RFID tag) 150, and mated alignmentfeatures 160 and 162 between carrier 40 and a processing station. Withreference to FIGS. 4 and 5, projection 70 comprises one or more flexiblefastener tabs (tabs or tab projections 70), and most preferably one ateach end 120 of body 52, that are integrated with substructure 50 and/orflange 68 near the junction between them. Each tab projection 70preferably has an angled flexible arm 122 that allows generally radialmovement 126 such that arm 122 can be pushed inward toward side wall 54of carrier body 52, and arm 122 is “spring loaded” to return to aboutits original position or a position suitable for engaging bottom surface112 of belt 72.

Arm 122 terminates in a hand 124 with a finger 128 that may be generallyparallel to side wall 54 of body 52. Hand 124 preferably has aprojection surface 130 that is generally parallel to bottom surface 132of flange 68 such that it is adapted to engage bottom surface 112 ofbelt 72. Projection surface 130 is spaced apart from bottom surface 132of flange 68 by a height 136 that is about the same as belt height 106.Hand 124 preferably also has an angled insertion surface 138 that isadapted to deflect away from the junction between top surface 108 andinternal edge 82 to facilitate insertion of carrier 40 into aperture 74,and finger 128 preferably has a flat release surface 140 thatfacilitates compression of arm 122 toward body 52 to release carrier 40from aperture 74. Skilled persons will appreciate that the dimensions,angles, and other features or surface characteristics of tab projection70 can be modified to address specific belt or carrier features and tocooperate with specific tools or equipment, such as for inserting orremoving carriers 40 from apertures 74.

With reference again to FIG. 5, a preferred embodiment of carrier 40 hasone or more carrier-information or carrier-identification tags ordevices, such as bar codes or RFID tags 150 embedded in an epoxy,silicon rubber, or other material layer 152 within respective recesses154 in substructure 50. Carrier-information tags are discussed hereinonly by way of example to RFID tags 150 and permit products to beidentified individually and/or by group characteristics. With respect tocarriers 40, RFID tags 150 can be employed to identify different typesof carriers 40, such as those adapted to hold different types or sizesof components 10, and to facilitate sorting or other tasks. Inparticular, RFID tags 150 would permit carriers 40 to be individuallytracked, such as for the number of times a carrier 40 has been used, orthe insertion force exerted to load or reverse components 10, and canindicate to a control system that a carrier 40 is becoming worn andneeds to be replaced. Carrier-information tags can also be used fortypical lifetime tracking of batches of carrier 40, such that eachcomponent need not be individually identified, and carrier-informationtags can be used in addition to (or instead of) color coding ofsubstructures 50 and/or resilient material 60.

Since RFID tags 150 are becoming inexpensive, skilled persons willappreciate that it could be advantageous to employ two cooperating orcross-identified RFID tags 150 per carrier 40 that are symmetricallypositioned such that the exemplary carrier 40 can be inserted intoaperture 74 in either of its two possible orientations and still have anRFID tag 150 in proximity to a single receiver or other sensor orinformation-gathering device, such as a bar-code reader. RFID tags 150can be positioned, for example, within flange 68 or body 52, such aswithin a special hole within recessed area 62 and embedded in resilientcoating material 60. Skilled persons will appreciate, however, that thepositions and numbers of RFID tags 150 within carriers 40 can be adaptedto suit the particular sizes and shapes of carriers 40 and the locationsof the sensors employed to retrieve the information from the RFID tags150.

FIG. 6 is a simplified side elevation view of a processing stationalignment fixture 164 with a pair of alignment features 162 positionedover alignment features 160 on an exemplary carrier 40. With referenceto FIGS. 5 and 6, preferred mated alignment features 160 and 162 areholes and pins. Preferably, alignment holes are positioned in carrier 40and alignment pins are employed by a processing station, but skilledpersons will appreciate that carriers 40 could be adapted to includepins and that processing stations could employ holes. Although alignmentfeatures 160 could be positioned in flange 68, alignment features 160are preferably positioned on, in, or through body 52 of carrier 40toward end walls 58. Alignment features 160 are also preferablypositioned through at least part of rigid substructure 50 rather thansolely through coating layer 60 to increase their useful life andlong-term alignment precision against wear.

Each carrier 40 preferably includes at least two symmetricallypositioned alignment features 160 to simplify carrier orientationrequirements such as for loading carriers 40 into aperture 74. Alignmentfeatures 160 are preferably positioned along a central axis of carrier40, but can be positioned at any locations on surfaces 102 or 104,preferably spaced apart by a large distance. Two or more alignmentfeatures 160 also facilitate precise alignment with processing stationsand prevent lateral movement of carriers 40 within the plane of belt 72within gaps 88 between body 52 and internal edges 82 of apertures 74during sensitive processing operations. Such operation might include,for example, simultaneous application of multiple spaced-apart lines oftermination paste across surfaces of array components 10 b.

In an exemplary embodiment, each alignment feature 160 is implemented asa coaxial pair of connected conical alignment holes 170 having largeropenings with a dimension 172 at surfaces 102 and 104 that narrow alongangled walls 174 to a smaller dimension 176 at about a middle height 178(about half of height 100) of carrier 40 to permit carrier 40 to bealigned from either side of surface 108 or 112 of belt 72. (Typically,components 10 are processed on both ends during a continuous beltrevolution before components 10 are removed from carrier 40.) Dimension172 is preferably a diameter that is at least about the dimension oftotal play of body 52 within aperture 74 or at least about two times thedimension of (equal) gaps 88, plus half of dimension 180 of tip 182 ofan alignment pin that is a preferred embodiment of alignment feature162. Neither the pin nor the hole need be tapered.

In a practical application, alignment fixture 164 can be lowered at aprocessing station under control of a guide rod 184 or other guidemechanism onto carrier 40 such that tips 182 engage respective alignmentholes 170. However, an alignment fixture 164 could be urged againstcarrier 40 from below bottom belt surface 112. Alternatively, belt 72can be pushed against a stationary alignment fixture 164 at a processingstation. Processing stations may include, but are not limited to,carrier loading or unloading stations, component loading or unloadingstations, paste applying stations, drying stations, component reversingstations, or carrier tracking stations.

Mating alignment features 160 of a carrier 40 floating in aperture 74with alignment features 162 of processing stations have severaladvantages over conventional methods of aligning belts to processingstations. Floating carrier alignment permits relaxation of alignmenttolerances between different processing stations and between them andbelt drive mechanisms because each station aligns to carrier 40independently. Independent alignment of carriers 40 also reduces torsionand other stresses on belt 72 between processing stations so that belts72 last longer. Similarly, alignment tolerances of drive holes 78 can berelaxed, and wear at drive holes 78 becomes less significant so belts 72can maintain a relaxed drive alignment for much longer periods of time,even though many generations of carriers 40 may be replaced. Belts 72may also bend around pulleys, corners, or other deflection points or atprocessing stations, while rigid carriers 40 will maintain their shape.The rigid shape and independent alignment of carriers 40 permitcomponent processing characteristics to be better optimized and moreprecise and permit greater uniformity of processed components 10 withinand between batches. Such precise characteristics or uniformity mayinclude, but are not limited to, paste thickness, flatness, and/oralignment or orthogonal seatability. Processed components 10 havinggreater uniformity reduce downstream production costs and increasereliability.

In an alternative embodiments, alignment features 162 of processingstations are substituted with vision-type positioning correctionsystems, such as those employed in the laser, semiconductor-processing,or other industries. In such embodiments, carrier alignment features 160take the form of fiducials or other surface features that can be used bythe positioning system to achieve very precise and very accuratepositioning between processing station equipment and carriers 40 and/ortheir components 10. The fiducials could even be placed on thecomponents 10. In such embodiments, combinations of mated alignmentfeatures 160 and 162 could additionally be designed to allow somefreedom of movement between carrier processing stations and carriers 40to provide “rough” alignment that could then be refined by the visionsystem.

FIG. 7 is a simplified fragmentary cross-sectional view of an exemplarycarrier attachment or insertion system 190 that employs a supplyvehicle, such as a carrier feeding tube 192, to feed carriers 40 into acarrier feeding chamber 194 where a linear actuator 196 pushes a carrier40 through or along one or more spring-loaded carrier guides or carrierarm guides 198 that may compress projections 70 or their arms 122 towardbody 52 and guide body 52 into aperture 74. Feeding tube 192 preferablyhas cross-sectional area dimensions in proximity to feeding chamber 194to permit only a single carrier 40 to enter feeding chamber 194 at agiven time. Skilled persons will appreciate that tube 192 and chamber194 of carrier attachment system 190 need not be vertical and could beangled or generally horizontal and that other types of feed systems andactuators could be employed. Skilled persons will also appreciate thattube 192 need not limit introduction to chamber 194 to one carrier 40 ata time, and several carriers 40 could be loaded simultaneously withmultiple actuators 196 or multiple pronged actuators into respectiveapertures 74 in belt 72.

FIG. 8 is a simplified side elevation view of an exemplary carrierextraction system 210 that employs actuated clamps 212 to compress flatsurfaces 140 of fingers 128 of projection arms 122 toward body 52 ofcarrier 40 to release surfaces 130 from engagement with surface 112 ofbelt 72. Substantially simultaneously or subsequently, actuator 214pushes bottom surface 104 of carrier 40 to release carrier 40 fromengagement with internal edges 82 of aperture 74 of belt 72. Skilledpersons will appreciate that carrier extraction system 210 need not behorizontal and could be angled, generally vertical, or facing downwardsso that gravity can assist carrier removal and that other types ofactuators could be employed. In an alternative embodiment, actuatedclamps 212 are angled inwardly to meet angled insertion surface 138 andactuator 214 is eliminated.

FIG. 9A is a simplified fragmentary cross-sectional view of analternative exemplary carrier attachment system 190 b for loadingalternative types of replaceable carriers 40 b onto alternative belts 72b having alternative carrier attachment features 220 for associationwith alternative carriers 40 b, and FIG. 9B is a simplified fragmentaryisometric view of an alternative belt 72 b that employs such analternative embodiment of carrier 40 b. With reference to FIGS. 9A and9B (collectively FIG. 9), belt 72 b may have a uniform solid thicknessincluding and between drive strips 222 or may only have bracing segments226 with a smaller height dimension than that of drive strips 222, ordrive strips 222 may be completely distinct and be connected only by,and having spaces 228 between, carriers 40 b, such as shown in FIG. 9B.For convenience, reference numerals may be used without letteridentifiers to refer to parts generically.

Carrier attachment features 220 of belts 72 b may include, but are notlimited to, apertures 74 b between pairs of drive strips 222, andapertures 74 c that extend through vertical sides 224 of belts 72 b ortheir drive strips 222. Apertures 74 c have height dimensions 232 thatare smaller than height dimension 106 b of drive strips 222, such thatbody 52 b or the entirety of carrier 40 b can be inserted throughvertical side 224 of belt 72 b. Apertures 74 c are about the same sizeas or slightly larger than respective dimensions of the ends of carriers40 b, but may have flared openings in one or more dimensions tofacilitate entry of carriers 40 b. With reference to FIG. 9, whichdepicts several exemplary embodiments, aperture 74 c has generallyparallel openings at both sides of both drive strips 222. Aperture 74 c₁ has a flared opening along only side dimensions and only on sides ofdrive strips 222 that are oriented toward carrier attachment system 190b. Aperture 74 c ₂ has a flared opening along both side and heightdimensions and on both sides of drive strips 222 so that drive strips222 are symmetrical from side to side and top to bottom so that they areeasier to install. Skilled persons will appreciate that apertures 74 cin the remote drive strip need not extend all the way through the secondside of belt 72 b, or apertures 74 c may instead take the form ofopen-topped troughs that may or may not extend through either side ofeither drive strip 222, such that carriers 40 b may be dropped into asecured position within belt 72 b.

Carrier attachment features 220 of belts 72 b may also include, but arenot limited to, bumps, small additional apertures or pits, or otherfeatures within or in proximity to apertures 74 b for engagement withmated engagement features 230, such as projections, bumps, smalladditional apertures or pits, or other features on carriers 40 b. Suchcarrier attachment features may be integrated with the internal sidewalls of apertures 74 c as shown, but they may alternatively oradditionally be positioned on or within the top and/or bottom surfacesof apertures 74 c. Similarly, mated engagement features 230 can bepositioned alternatively or additionally on or within the top and/orbottom surfaces 102 and 104 of carriers 40 b.

Alternatively or additionally, carriers 40 b may include flange 68and/or projection 70 positioned about the ends of body 52 and mayencompass both top and bottom surfaces 102 and 104. In addition tocarrier attachment features 220 and mated engagement features 230 thatare integrated respectively with belts 72 b and carriers 40 b, discreteattachment devices, such as securing pins 240, may alternatively oradditionally be employed to secure carriers 40 b to belt 72 b.

In practice, carrier insertion system 190 b may employ, for example,processes and equipment similar to that of carrier insertion system 190,such as carrier feeding tube 192 b, carrier feeding chamber 194 b,linear actuator 196 b, and carrier arm guides 198 b except that carriers40 b would be oriented differently and actuator 196 b would exert forceon a vertical side rather than at the top of carrier 40 b. Extractioncan be automatically accomplished with an actuator similar to actuator196 b.

FIG. 10 is a simplified part side elevation and part isometricfragmentary cross-sectional view of an alternative exemplary carrierattachment system 190 b. A major difference between the embodiments inFIGS. 9 and 10 is the orientation of carriers 40 b in feeding chambers194 b. Such orientation can be controlled by adapting the design offeeding tubes 192 b to present carriers 40 b to chambers 194 b in thedesired orientation. Skilled persons will also note that belt 72 b runsgenerally parallel to carrier attachment system 190 b toward theinsertion point in FIG. 9, but belt 72 b runs generally orthogonal tocarrier attachment system 190 b toward the insertion point in FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 is a simplified part side elevation and part isometricfragmentary cross sectional view of an alternative exemplary carrierattachment system 190 b that employs securing pins 240. Carrierinsertion system 190 b of FIG. 11 employs similar processes andequipment to that of carrier insertion system 190 b of FIG. 10; however,carrier insertion system 190 b of FIG. 11 additionally employs one ormore securing pin insertion systems 250. Securing pin insertion systems250 may employ gravity feeds or actuators (not shown) to introducesecuring pins 240 through belt pin holes 252 into carrier pin holes 254.Belt pin holes 252 may be flared toward surface 108 of belt 72 b and/orcarrier pin holes 254 may be flared toward surface 102 of carrier 40 bto facilitate insertion of securing pins 240 through them. Belt pinholes 252 may or may not have symmetrical openings on the belt faces andmay not extend all the way through to the bottom of belt 72 b. Belt pinholes 252 and securing pins 240 may be circular or employ a variety ofdifferent shapes matching shapes or mated features. The securing pins240 can be easily removed with an actuator, particularly in embodimentswhere belt pin holes 252 extend all the way through belt 72 b.

FIG. 12 is a simplified side elevation cross sectional view of analternative exemplary carrier attachment system 190 b that employsalternative types of belt attachment features 220 that cooperate withmated engagement features 230 to secure carriers 40 b to belt 72 b. Withreference to FIG. 12, belt attachment features 220 include projectionswith tabs 260, and mated engagement features 230 comprise receivingapertures that are adapted to receive the projections. In a preferredembodiment, tabs 260 are divergent and reside at the ends of theprojections and at a height from belt 72 b such that they protrude abovesurface 102 or 104 of carrier 40 b when it is secured to belt 72 b. Thereceiving apertures may be flared or take on a variety of shapes asdiscussed with other features in embodiments previously discussed.

Carrier insertion systems 190 and carrier extraction systems 210 may bepositioned along a continuous belt loop of other processing stations andmay be fully automated to extract and replace carriers 10 in response toinformation received from RFID tags 150 or from software trackingalgorithms in a processing station or machine employing carriers 40.Apertures 74 can also be individually tagged or otherwise identified orcan be known as being between apertures containing identified carriers40 so that empty apertures 74 can be identified if desirable.

In an alternative embodiment, belts 72 contain replaceable belt segmentsthat each include one or more carriers 40 or masks 22. The belt segmentscould be held together by removable pins or other known attachmentmeans. The pins can be removed and belt segments containing worncarriers 40 or masks 22 could be easily popped out and replaced.

Skilled persons will appreciate with respect to belt-assistedtermination or other microcomponent manufacturing processes thatcomponents 10 can be seated centrally (neither end 12 of component 10protruding much, if at all, from receiving holes 46), and carriers 40can be extracted from belt 72 while the carriers 40 are holding thecomponents 10. The filled carriers 40 could then be inserted intoanother belt that uses a different speed and/or takes the components 10through a different process. The filled carriers 40 could alternativelybe inserted into a cassette for a particular (bottleneck) process suchas paste drying and then reinserted in a belt 72 for second endprocessing, for example, or the filled carriers 40 could be insertedinto a cassette for storage, transport, or sale.

It will be obvious to those having skill in the art that many changesmay be made to the details of the above-described embodiments of thisinvention without departing from the underlying principles thereof. Thescope of the present invention should, therefore, be determined only bythe following claims.

1. An automated carrier extraction system for removing componentcarriers from a belt having carrier attachment features for associationwith belt-engagement features on the carriers and having drive featuressuch that the belt is adapted to be moved by one or more belttranslation mechanisms to pass through one or more electronic componentprocessing stations, each carrier having multiple receiving holes, eachreceiving hole adapted to hold one of the electronic components,comprising: a sensor for detecting information about a carrier; and adisengagement actuator for suppressing the belt-engagement feature on acarrier to facilitate removal of the carrier from association with thebelt.
 2. The automated carrier extraction system of claim 1 in which thecarrier attachment feature comprises a belt aperture and in which thecarrier includes a body having perimeter dimensions that are smallerthan corresponding dimensions of the belt aperture such that the body isadapted to sit within the belt aperture.
 3. The automated carrierextraction system of claim 1 in which the carrier attachment featurecomprises a belt aperture and in which the carrier includes a bodyhaving perimeter dimensions that are smaller than correspondingdimensions of the belt aperture such that the body is adapted to sitwithin the belt aperture and have some movement within a plane of thebelt while being securely supported by the belt.
 4. The automatedcarrier extraction system of claim 1 in which the carrier attachmentfeature comprises a belt aperture and in which the carrier comprises aflange connected to or integrated with a carrier body with top andbottom surfaces through which the receiving holes axially extend, theflange extending outwardly from the body and having a flange dimensionadapted to overhang an internal edge of the belt, such that the flangecontacts a surface of the belt when the carrier is engaged with thebelt, and in which the belt-engagement feature of the carrier comprisesa projection that is adapted in cooperation with the flange to engagethe internal edge of the belt to brace the carrier within the belt. 5.The automated carrier extraction system of claim 1 in which the carriercomprises an information or identification tag, and the sensor iscapable of detecting the number of times the carrier has passed througha processing station.
 6. The automated carrier extraction system ofclaim 4 in which the projection has a surface that is parallel to theflange.
 7. The automated carrier extraction system of claim 4 in whichthe projection comprises a nub.
 8. The automated carrier extractionsystem of claim 4 in which the projection comprises a tab attached to orintegrated with the body.
 9. The automated carrier extraction system ofclaim 4 in which the projection comprises a tab attached to orintegrated with the flange.
 10. The automated carrier extraction systemof claim 1 further comprising an alignment tool adapted to engage one ormore alignment features on the carrier to facilitate precise alignmentbetween the carrier and the disengagement actuator.
 11. A method forautomated extraction of carriers from belts having carrier attachmentfeatures for association with belt-engagement features of the carriersand having drive features such that the belt is adapted to be moved byone or more belt translation mechanisms to pass through one or moreelectronic component processing stations, each carrier having multiplereceiving holes, each receiving hole having a resilient edge that isadapted to resiliently hold one of the electronic components,comprising: receiving information about a characteristic of a carrier;and suppressing the belt-engagement feature on a carrier to facilitateremoval of the carrier from association with the carrier attachmentfeature of the belt.
 12. The method of claim 11 in which the carriercomprises an information or identification tag, and the characteristicof the carrier comprises a value that indicates how many times thecarrier has passed through a processing station.
 13. The method of claim11 in which the carrier attachment feature comprises a belt aperture andin which the carrier comprises a flange connected to or integrated witha carrier body with top and bottom surfaces through which the receivingholes axially extend, the flange extending outwardly from the body andhaving a flange dimension adapted to overhang an internal edge of thebelt, such that the flange contacts a surface of the belt when thecarrier is engaged with the belt, and in which the belt-engagementfeature of the carrier comprises a projection that is adapted incooperation with the flange to engage the internal edge of the belt tobrace the carrier within the belt, further comprising: suppressing theprojection to facilitate removal of the body from the aperture; andexerting a force in a direction from the bottom surface to the topsurface to expel the carrier from the belt.
 14. The method of claim 13in which the projection has a surface that is parallel to the flange.15. The method of claim 13 in which the projection comprises a nub. 16.The method of claim 13 in which the projection comprises a tab attachedto or integrated with the body.
 17. The method of claim 13 in which theprojection comprises a tab attached to or integrated with the flange.18. The method of claim 11 further comprising employing a disengagementmechanism in cooperation with an alignment tool adapted that is toengage one or more alignment features on the carrier to facilitateprecise alignment between the carrier and the disengagement mechanism.19. The method of claim 18 in which at least one of the alignmentfeatures is a hole.
 20. The method of claim 18 in which at least one ofthe alignment features on the carrier is a tapered alignment hole thatpenetrates the carrier and has a larger outer dimension that tapers to asmaller inner dimension.